Ch.186Epilogue. The Wedding (2)

“Please, Jinsoo…”

In a shabby church.

Fists flew toward the face of a pastor who stood still with a gentle smile.

As soon as he heard the word “blind,” Jinsoo was doing this to verify if the pastor was truly blind.

Juliane, who tried to stop Jinsoo, ended up covering her face in embarrassment.

“Yes. I believe he is indeed blind. I can guarantee it.”

“Thank you for the guarantee…”

How on earth did he confirm that?

Juliane felt her face burning as she firmly grabbed Jinsoo’s hand.

A large hand covered in calluses and cracked wounds.

Caressing that hand, Juliane sighed deeply.

She wanted to make this man happy now, after a lifetime of hardship.

Now she would truly, officially make him her man.

“Have both the bride and groom entered?”

“Yes. We have entered.”

“And your daughter?”

“She’s here.”

Cuss answered from the back, sitting cross-legged with folded arms.

Juliane was startled by the sight of her carelessly displaying and waving her tentacles, but quickly closed her mouth.

The blind pastor wouldn’t be able to see them anyway.

“The dress looks quite modest…”

“No, it’s beautiful as it is. It’s a hundred times prettier than something long and cumbersome that drags on the ground.”

The wedding they had originally planned was already quite small.

Renting a modest venue, inviting around 50 guests, keeping it brief…

But it ended up being much smaller than planned.

The dress she wore was plain white and not particularly fancy, and Jinsoo had to wear an old suit rather than the new one they had bought.

The only thing that hadn’t changed from the plan was Cuss.

At least they hadn’t lost Cuss’s clothes and were able to dress her properly.

That alone was extremely satisfying, and Juliane couldn’t help but smile as she looked at Cuss’s sullen expression.

“That’s right. Outward appearances aren’t important.”

Of course, it would be nice to pop champagne together and chat boisterously.

It would also be nice to create unforgettable memories for this once-in-a-lifetime event.

But there was something more important.

It was the ceremony that bound a family together.

Now that Jinsoo was legally declared dead, all the documents certifying their marriage had become worthless.

Strictly speaking, there was nothing binding the three of them together now.

Not blood, not race, not even species.

The only thing binding them was an invisible and imperfect bond.

The ceremony to confirm that bond was about to begin.

“Now, the bride will enter.”

“I told you I’m already here, Pastor.”

“Oh my. Then the groom will enter.”

“Whose voice is that?”

“The groom’s, of course!”

“Then he must have entered already!”

“Oh dear, oh dear.”

Though he looked quite elderly, he seemed to have some signs of dementia.

Still, perhaps out of habit from officiating weddings, the pastor began to proceed somewhat skillfully.

“On this wonderful day, a couple is about to become husband and wife. Would the guests please welcome them with applause.”

“Woohoo.”

Clap, clap, clap.

Cuss applauded halfheartedly while pouting.

“Very good. The two of you are now husband and wife.”

“Excuse me?”

“Hmm?”

“Aren’t we missing something?”

“Hmm…?”

Oh no.

This wedding is ruined.

Juliane sensed the outcome of this wedding at that moment and squeezed her eyes shut.

“We haven’t done the marriage vows yet, Pastor.”

“What’s that?”

“I said we haven’t done the marriage vows yet, you fool!”

“Oh dear.”

Why was this man trying to fight with the officiant…

Juliane felt her face burning as she repeatedly fanned herself.

“Then we will proceed with the marriage vows. First, I ask the groom. Jinsoo Kim, do you take Juliane Kim as your wife, to support your wife and daughter as the head of the household-“

“Ah, I can’t do that.”

“Huh?”

“I’m saying I don’t have that ability. Can you switch the bride and groom’s lines?”

“Then, groom, Jinsoo Kim, do you take Juliane Kim as your wife, to love and respect her in all circumstances, to raise your children in good health and create a harmonious home as a faithful husband, do you so swear?”

“I swear!”

A powerful declaration.

Juliane gave up trying to understand what was happening.

Once she gave up, it got better.

Now she just prayed for this moment to pass as quickly as possible.

“Now it’s the bride’s turn. Bride, Juliane Kim, do you take Jinsoo Kim as your husband, to love and respect him in all circumstances, to support your wife and daughter as the head of the household and protect your home, do you so swear?”

“I swear…”

“With this, the marriage vows are complete. Bride Jinsoo Kim and groom Juliane Kim have declared in this place that they will share all joys and sorrows throughout their lives as a married couple. God is watching over everything. Therefore…”

As the wedding address began to drag on, Jinsoo’s hand came to tap on Juliane’s sleeve.

When she glanced at his face, he was yawning as if bored.

Then he silently tapped his lips and leaned his face closer.

‘K-kiss? Now?’

Juliane’s eyes trembled in surprise.

Looking to the side, she saw the pastor still reciting the wedding address, oblivious to what was happening.

She wanted to wait until the end, but even to Juliane, there seemed to be no end in sight.

Jinsoo kept tilting his head forward, urging her on.

Juliane, who had been waiting patiently for the ceremony to end, quickly became impatient.

‘What is this, really…’

She closed her eyes and pressed her lips against his.

They explored each other’s lips, taking care not to make any sound or rustle their clothes.

Somehow, guilt had transformed into a sense of transgression, and shame into pleasure, tickling Juliane’s brain.

‘Damn.’

Cuss, who had been watching everything with her arm resting on the chair, snorted.

Why did they even bother calling an officiant if they were going to do this?

If they were going to ignore all procedures and kiss as they pleased.

Oh, perhaps they called a blind pastor for this very reason…?

Cuss nodded in understanding as this realization dawned on her.

‘Well… it is quite beautiful.’

Cuss took a camera and captured the two people in the frame.

The soft light filtering through the stainless glass.

And the sight of a man and woman, more radiant than ever, kissing—it made her heart feel a little touched.

“This concludes all the procedures.”

“Ah, *smack*. Yes. Thank you so much, Pastor. To do this for free…”

“Not at all. It’s my pleasure.”

“Shall we go on our honeymoon now?”

“Y-yes…”

The sound of footsteps rapidly fading away, as if they were fleeing.

Finally, when the door slammed shut, the pastor gritted his teeth.

“Those bastards…”

Making him officiate while they sucked on each other’s lips like animals?

Did they think he couldn’t hear?

He should have expected such a perverted couple from the moment they specifically sought out a blind pastor.

I’ll never officiate another wedding, just you watch.

The pastor clenched his fist and trembled with anger.

***

“We don’t need to go far for our honeymoon.”

“Hehe. Right?”

She had been singing about wanting to go to Hawaii for their honeymoon, but in the end, Juliane got her wish.

Juliane, who had changed into comfortable clothes and was now hopping around, had never looked so excited.

I hugged her tightly and gently caressed her belly, which made me smile involuntarily.

Her once-firm abs had softened, and I could feel a slight bulge.

There’s really my child in there.

Though it wasn’t her first pregnancy, it felt new.

Back then, I was away sailing and couldn’t see her belly growing day by day.

This time, I’ll stick by her side and watch the changes every day.

I’ll stay by Juliane’s side until the moment our child is born.

Flutter…

“Here. It’s done.”

“Ah.”

Just then, a hand holding photos came between us.

It seemed the photos Cuss had taken earlier had been developed.

I grabbed the edge of the photo and waved it back and forth.

“Why are you doing that?”

“Huh? Oh. This isn’t a Polaroid, is it? It’s just a habit.”

“How did you develop such a habit…?”

“…?”

Looking at Juliane’s expression, she seemed genuinely puzzled.

Good heavens.

She doesn’t know about Polaroid photos.

The generation gap is more enormous than I thought…

Suddenly, I felt sorry for my father-in-law.

“Wow. It came out great.”

“Let me see too!”

The photo was stunning.

The composition was artistic.

With a bit of exaggeration, it could rival the famous V-J Day kiss photo from World War II.

Looking at it like this, no one would guess that we were secretly kissing while the officiant was reciting the wedding address.

Anyway, it was truly a well-taken photo, no exaggeration.

“Our daughter could be a photographer, you know.”

“Oh my, it really is well-taken…”

“Good at studies, good at photography. Wow. Is there anything you can’t do?”

“Ugh…”

I pulled Cuss close and roughly ruffled her hair.

Though her hair became disheveled, she was still adorable.

Could there be a creature cuter than this?

I doubt it.

A supreme hybrid with only the cute parts of humans and aliens mixed together—how could anything in this world be cuter than Cuss?

“Shall we take a leisurely walk on the beach?”

“Me! I want to swim! I want to meet sharks!”

“We didn’t bring swimsuits…”

“Great! Let’s go, man!”

Swimming sounds good.

The beach is more fun when you go in with clothes on instead of swimsuits anyway.

I grabbed Cuss by the nape of her neck as she tried to run ahead, and gestured for Juliane to come quickly.

Only then did Juliane smile and run over to wrap her arms around mine.

“Wow! Humans are swarming like ants!”

“Ugh. It’s half water, half people?”

The beach we arrived at was packed with people.

It was like that even though it was already evening and the sun was setting.

I later found out that this was the famous Waikiki Beach.

The emerald sea and golden sand I had only heard about were really here.

The sand kept getting into my sandals, which was annoying, but that’s all part of the beach experience, isn’t it?

Cuss had already thrown off her slippers and was running around barefoot.

“Are you okay?”

“With what?”

“You must have seen enough of the Hawaiian ocean. After a month of recuperation.”

“That’s true… I thought I’d be sick of it by now. But why does it feel so new and enjoyable, as if I’m here for the first time…?”

That was a relief.

I was worried that only Juliane wouldn’t enjoy it.

As I dipped my feet in the seawater with a splash, a refreshing sensation washed over me.

Just then, I suddenly thought of the photo and grabbed Cuss, who was about to jump into the sea on her own.

“Jinsoo! I’m going in! I’m—gack?!”

“Wait a moment. Let’s take a photo with the beach as a backdrop.”

“Hmph. What are you, an old man?”

“Huh? Is taking a photo with the beach as a backdrop that old-fashioned?”

“Pfft… Yes. Very old-mannish. But I think it will turn out well.”

“…”

How can she be so pretty even while disparaging me as an old man?

I was so captivated by Juliane’s smile that I zoned out for a while.

As she kept meeting my gaze, Juliane seemed to sense something odd in the atmosphere, and her cheeks gradually began to redden.

As I leaned in slightly, she seemed a bit hesitant but didn’t appear to dislike it.

This would be the first time doing this in such a crowded place…

“Excuse me! Would you like me to take your photo?”

“Ah, ah. Yes…”

Just as our lips were about to touch, a voice interrupted, and I had to quickly lift my head.

Looking to the side, I saw a couple standing next to Cuss, holding our camera.

It seemed she had gone to ask them to take our photo.

Clever girl.

Doing things without being told…

“You stand in the middle. That’s right.”

“Ugh…”

“Hehe. Shall we both hug Cuss for the photo?”

“Urgh…”

As we were considering various poses with Cuss between us, painful groans kept escaping her.

It seemed none of this was to Cuss’s liking.

If she keeps pouting like that, the photo won’t turn out well.

Of course, that would be cute in its own way, but I’d prefer a photo where we’re all smiling together.

“Argh! This won’t do! I hate being the shortest one!”

“Well, you are the shortest, so there’s nothing we can—hey! Ack! Yaaack!”

Suddenly, Cuss shook off my arms and started climbing onto my back.

She grabbed my hair and pulled at my ears as she climbed, making me think I was going to die from the pain.

Finally, after successfully climbing onto my shoulders with one leg, Cuss made a V-sign above my head.

“Now! Take it!”

Click.

The camera flash went off.

“Let me see.”

“Gack?!”

I threw Cuss onto the sand and checked the photo.

It was bound to be a mess.

“Hahaha. Would you like me to take another one?”

“No… this is good.”

Looking at the photo, my excitement subsided, and I burst into laughter.

Cuss, perched on my head, laughing with excitement.

Juliane, leaning her head on my shoulder with a happy smile.

Except for my expression, which looked subtly pained, everyone looked happy.

Yes. Our family suits this dynamic look better than a calm one.

“Thank you so much. Would you like me to take one for you too?”

“That would be great!”

Of course, I took a photo of the couple in return.

My photography skills were so poor that the couple’s expressions soured in real-time, but Cuss snatched the camera and took a shot, which they seemed satisfied with.

Still, thinking the angle wasn’t quite right, Cuss held the camera while I gave her a piggyback ride to adjust the height.

Thanks to that, we were able to give the couple a splendid photo with the sunset as a backdrop.

“Jinsoo! Can I jump in now?”

“Yes! Go, Cuss!”

“Juliane, come with us…”

“I can’t let my belly get cold… You two go ahead and play.”

That’s right.

Juliane can’t fully immerse herself.

As a compromise, Cuss and I went in and enjoyed the water play to our hearts’ content.

“Jinsoo! Catch this! It’s a wave!”

“You call that a wave? Catch this, you!”

“Blub! Ack! Hack! Keck! S-stop…”

We played until the lifeguard blew his whistle, telling us to come out as the sun had set.

How long has it been since I played like this until exhaustion?

It had been so long since I’d played in the water that I felt like I was going to die of fatigue even after just a short time.

As we staggered out like zombies, Juliane was beaming with a broad smile.

“Hehehe. Looks like you had a lot of fun.”

“After you have the baby, Juliane, you’re going in too! Be prepared!”

“I wonder if Cuss can carry me?”

“Yeah, it’ll be tough. Juliane, you’re much heavier than you—ow!”

My arm got pinched.

This is why loyal subjects who speak the truth don’t survive long.

After the sun set, it quickly grew dark.

Sitting side by side, looking at the dark sea with the moon rising, all sorts of emotions crossed my mind.

As Cuss was nodding off, I leaned across her to whisper in Juliane’s ear.

“Juliane.”

“Yes…”

With colorful lights shining from the shops behind and moonlight illuminating the sea, the scenery was…

It was quite a romantic atmosphere.

What one should say at a time like this is predetermined, right?

“Want to have sex?”

“What?”

Juliane’s expression contorted.

What? Am I the only one excited?

Am I the only one aroused?

Really…?